Women with epilepsy may have more trouble conceiving, especially if they take high doses of anti-epileptic drugs, according to researchers in India in the journal Neurology.
Dr. Sanjeev Thomas working for the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology conducted a study on a group of 375 women suffering from epilepsy who were trying to conceive. 62 percent were pregnant within two years. of them. The remaining 38 percent. had fertility problems on average for the next three years of follow-up.
Scientists noticed that of the women who failed to get pregnant, 32 percent. were taking one drug, 41 percent two drugs, and 60 percent. three or more. Among women who did not take any medications, only 7% had fertility problems.
In an accompanying article, Dr. Alison Pack, a neurologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, notes that the severity of epilepsy, which is also associated with an increased dose of drugs, may play a role in this case.
According to the guidelines of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epileptic Society, pregnant women should limit the intake of antiepileptic drugs, especially those based on valproic acid, phenobarbital and phenytoin.
Phenobarbital, which was used by most of the women in the studies, and some other older anti-epileptic drugs, such as carbamazepine, stimulate liver enzymes that affect levels of estrogen and other sex hormones. Therefore, they may reduce your chance of becoming pregnant, explains Dr. Pack.
Scientists note, however, that these conclusions must be confirmed during subsequent, more widely-held observations, because too few of the surveyed women used newer-generation drugs that are already widely used in developed countries (PAP).